A fireman was killed and four others, including two firefighters, injured in a blaze at an electric heater manufacturing unit in central Delhi’s Anand Parbat late on Wednesday. They were rushed to a hospital, where Vijender Pal (52) succumbed to injuries on Thursday.
The police received a call regarding the fire at gali number eight at 10.14 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot from Rani Jhansi Road and Prasad Nagar fire stations. The building was empty and both the floors were on fire,” said a senior police officer.
Short circuit
He said the fire is suspected to have started from first floor due to a short circuit in an air conditioner in the office. According to a fire official, the blaze was doused after two hours. Three firemen, including fire station officer Avtar Singh (56), and firemen Sunil Kumar (50) and Mr. Pal, then proceeded to carry out the cooling off process. While Mr. Singh was on first floor, the others were on the second floor.
A sudden blast caused a tin shed to fall on Mr. Pal. A girder fell on Mr. Kumar and Mr. Singh, who came up after hearing the blast, too suffered injuries. Dhananjay Kumar and Manoj Kumar, who were watching the operation from the adjacent building, too sustained minor injuries.
All injured persons were rushed to Jeevan Mala Hospital. Mr. Pal was later shifted to Ganga Ram Hospital due to the severity of his injuries. “He passed away in the afternoon,” said an officer. The police said Mr. Singh suffered a severe knee injury and Mr. Kumar a head injury.